A Selection of Romantic Farewells from L.A.’s Most Iconic Venues

First opening in 1931 and hosting Clark Gable and Joan Crawford on opening night, The Wiltern sits on the corner of WILshire and wesTERN (geddit?). A blue/green terra-cotta clad, art deco triumph, the exquisite venue came within a hair’s breath of demolition on two separate occasions during the ’70s. The Wiltern has transformed from a vaudeville venue to one of the best places in the city to see anyone from Bob Dylan to Jack White.

Opening in 1926 and built in the Spanish Revival style, The Fonda was one of the first legitimate theaters in Hollywood. Having been restored to its ‘20s finery in 2002, the venue is a favorite for big acts wanting a smaller space, and has hosted everyone from The Rolling Stones to Pearl Jam. It’s this reputation that saw it get named L.A.’s Best Music Venue by the LA Weekly in 2015.

Beginning as a jazz joint that hosted gangsters Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen, in 1993 Johnny Depp and Chuck E. Weiss revitalized the space and opened The Viper Room to a Tom Waits performance. Later that year River Phoenix tragically died out-front after performing with Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It has hosted everyone from Johnny Cash to Oasis and was the scene of an onstage fight between members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

A titanic venue with a capacity of almost 4,000, the Palladium opened in 1940 with Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra playing the tunes. Since then it has hosted everything from The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1969 to the final concert scene in The Blues Brothers (1980). It reopened in 2008 with a Jay-Z show after careful restorations.